After years of pondering, “why are there no awesome smoothie bars in la?” I have finally discovered that there is one, and it goes by the name of Earthbar.  They have a few locations and in every one of them they have a variety of vitamins, supplements, snack foods, super foods, teas, herbs and, of course, a smoothie bar.

 The smoothie bar serves drinks for all different purposes, some for energy, some for avoiding colds and some for alleviating allergies. They use high end products and they understand the right balance between delicious and healthy.  The smoothies are fantastically thick, smooth and creamy.

A vitamin genius and pharmacist, Bernie Bubman, and his son Noah started Earthbar.  Together they search for the finest and most interesting natural remedies and offer them to their customers.  

I have never been served by an unpleasant employee.  I frequent the Santa Monica Earthbar inside Equinox and am often helped by a wonderful and helpful man named Neil.  I would highly recommend stopping in and asking Neil for a smoothie recommendation.

My two favorite smoothies are the flax master and the plant protein smoothie.  The flax master is full of flax oil, vitamins, coconut water, almonds, bananas, blueberries, cinnamon and a few other delightfully tasty ingredients.  I find this smoothie to be an excellent lunch replacement because it is so hearty.  The plant protein smoothie has super greens and vitamins in it so it is a little more “health foody” but it is still sweet from bananas and super creamy.

If you are a smoothie person you MUST check out Earthbar!

I am really loving all of the e-mails that I am receiving.  I greatly appreciate all of the questions. I am trying to respond to each and every recipe request!

So, Nando, today is your day!

Nando wanted a recipe involving beets.

I love the beet and goat cheese combination, so I created a very basic beet napoleon for you! You may add avocado, citrus, sprouts, greens, or whatever your heart desires to make the dish unique.

The basic ingredients for this recipe are goat cheese and beets.  You can choose the type of cheese you want and the color beets that you want. I love golden beets because they are super sweet and their color caramelizes really nicely.

For this recipe I bought plain goat cheese and I put my own herbs in the cheese, but you can buy spiced goat cheese if you like!

Beet Napoleon

3 large golden beets

for the cheese:

1 log firm goat cheese

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp chives

1 tsp honey

salt

1 c spinach

dressing:

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 small orange (just the juice)

2 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp mustard

drizzle of honey

salt

pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  

In a large pot, boil beets in water for 20 minutes.  Then prepare a greased baking sheet to bake your beets on.  Once the beets have boiled for 20 minutes peel them and slice them.  Place them on the baking sheet and drizzle them with some oil.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the sides.

In a small bowl, chop all of your fresh herbs, honey and a pinch of salt.  Add in the goat cheese (make sure the cheese is not too cold) and incorporate all of the ingredients.  Then roll the cheese into a log and cover it with saran wrap or tin foil. Let the cheese set in the fridge.

Prepare the dressing and lightly toss the spinach in it (leaving enough dressing for drizzling).

Once the beets are prepared, let them cool for a while.

Then place the spinach on a plate, followed by two beets with a nice slice of goat cheese sandwiched in the middle of the beets.

Drizzle the extra dressing over the napoleons and serve!

Serves 3

Here is an idea that might help you start enjoying those one or two vegetables that you just don’t like that much, but that you know you should eat. PLANT THEM.  Perhaps you are thinking, “That is crazy I have zero outdoor space!” To you I say, “Do you have a stoop? Do you have a deck? Do you have a roof?” If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then guess what… you too can have your own little garden.  Just ask the plant vendor what the best conditions for the little guy are.  Perhaps the plant likes all shade, partial shade, or direct sun, and maybe you’ll find that you have the perfect location for one of those types of plants.  

Just make sure that you give your little plant enough space in the pot for it to grow. Give it the right soil and have organic plant food on hand, plants get hungry too. Oh yeah, don’t over or under water the plant.

Raising the plant from a seedling or a sad little emaciated twig will give you the satisfaction of creating life and maintaining it, and you will be much more inclined to eat the vegetable that it bears.

Go on and try it.  It’s summer time. What have you got to lose?

I visited Santa Barbara over the weekend and went to a wonderful winery in Lompoc, where they were selling really delicious olive oil.  The winery was called Foley Estates Vineyard, and me being a food person, the wine was very nice, but it was the olive oil that they were selling that really struck me! The oil is made by a company called Los Olivos and let me tell you, this oil is AMAZING!  They had a bunch of different flavors, ranging from truffle oil to blood orange olive oil!  I purchased garlic oil, since I am such a garlic fiend, but they have oil for everyone!  The garlic oil is full of delicious pieces of roasted and minced garlic.  It is fantastic on just about everything. 

This oil is fairly difficult to find, so if you would like a bottle I highly recommend calling the winery. Everyone over there is very sweet and helpful, especially Vallarie.  If you ask for her, I am sure she will help you find exactly what you are looking for!

Let me tell you this olive oil is worth every cent!

Give the winery a call! (805) 573-6222

I am ready for a challenge! Someone give me my next junk-food-gone-healthy assignment!!!

e-mail it to healthfoodstalker@gmail.com

These are the healthiest cinnamon rolls in existence.  The bun is really good, it needs an awesome frosting to make it sensational, which I have not perfected quite yet, but I am on my way there!!!

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

dough:

2 cups white spelt flour

1 cup spelt flour

2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 c coconut oil (not liquefied)

1 c orange juice (no pulp)

3 tbsp honey

spread:

3/4 cups brown sugar

2 tbsp spelt flour

4 tbsp cinnamon

3 tbsp walnut oil

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 cup raisins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray a nice sized casserole dish with cooking spray or vegan butter.

For the dough:

Combine the flours, baking powder and salt.  Then add the coconut oil in small pieces.  Make sure the pieces are not too big, but also not to small, just smaller than a pea.  The bits of oil are what give the cinnamon roll its nice crumb.  Combine the honey and orange juice, and then add that mixture to the flours.  Mix the dough with your hands until it is ready to be rolled out.

Using a rolling pin roll out the dough so that it is very thin and in a rectangle.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the spread (except for the raisins) and distribute it evenly over the dough, then distribute the raisins evenly.

Then roll the dough so that you are manipulating the shorter side of your dough rectangle, meaning you are going to have a shorter log with more layers.

Then cut the dough log in even pieces, using a good knife, or pastry cutter, and lay them facing up in your dish, meaning the swirly side of the cinnamon roll is facing up.

Bake them for about 25 minutes!

Serves 8

This recipe was adopted from a cinnamon roll recipe on Healthy Green Kitchen.

This is the segment you have all been waiting for.  Every few days I will accept the challenge from one follower to create a dish that they LOVE and CRAVE but avoid because it’s unhealthy.  You may send a suggestion for any type of food, whether it is coconut French toast, macaroni and cheese balls, fried chicken, an ice cream sandwich cookie… you name it, and I’ll healthify it.  This way you can live happily and satisfied while still keeping your health as a top priority.

Challenge Number 1:

Brought to you by Jonna (Jo_Mi_Co)

Jonna loves falafels but tries to not eat them very often for two reasons.

1. They are deep-fried.

2. All too often they are filled with wheat and other ingredients that are not especially healthy.

So, these are for you Jonna!

Homemade Pan Fried Falafel

2 cups of chickpeas

1 cup onion

3 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp cilantro

4 tbsp gluten free flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 cloves of garlic

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes

olive oil

In a Cuisinart, combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, herbs and seasonings.  Blend the ingredients so that everything is very fine but not mushy.  Then add the baking powder and flour.  Once the batter is made, cover it and place it into the freezer for about 20 minutes.  In a large skillet, heat about a 1/2 inch of olive oil.  Once the oil is sizzling hot drop in the falafel dough in small circles, about the size of a donut hole.  Once one side is browned roll them around so that all of the sides get nice and crispy. The falafels are cooked once all of the sides are brown!

If you are making a big batch, I would recommend putting the oven on and keeping them hot in there until all of the falafels are done!

These are so good. I suppose this should serve four people… but for reality sake let’s say…

Serves 2-3

Also, I served my falafels over a nice chopped salad of red cabbage, snap peas, red bell pepper and cucumber with a little balsamic vinaigrette and raisins… but you may serve your falafel with whatever you like!

Enjoy!

I changed my icon, but it is still me!!! The Health Food Stalker.

The silliest thing ever is when people spend three dollars on a cupcake, when you can make a whole batch and decorate them for six dollars.  Next time you want to give a friend a birthday gift, or just a little treat, try making a batch yourself.  You can keep the decorating equipment and use it over and over again.  They will probably taste better than the store bought cupcakes and be cuter.

There is a company called Meri Meri that makes the most adorable cupcake cases and toppers. Check them outttt!

 A lovely reader asked me if I could come up with a recipe for a very healthy oatmeal and peanut butter cookie.  She was having trouble coming up with a cookie that had a good consistency and taste while still being really healthy.  I’ll tell you why this is: because cookies aren’t realllly supposed to be healthy…  desserts are not super healthy, because the taste satisfaction that we associate with dessert is sort of a sinful delight.  

However, you should not deprive yourself of sinful treats every once in a while. You might just go crazy :)  

Having said that, Jessica understands that obviously there are ways to tweak recipes and to incorporate ingredients into desserts that are much healthier and less calorically dense than others. Unfortunately, more often than not, the healthier a dessert becomes the less satisfying it also becomes.  But that is why your taste buds have the ability to adjust! So, Jessica, this is for you!

Thank you very much for your e-mail and support. If you ever have any other questions please feel free to shoot me an e-mail!! 

Gluten Free Oatmeal and Peanut Butter Health Cookies

½ stick vegan butter

1 (to 1 1/2) c raw honey

2 egg whites

1 c gluten free flour

2 ¼ c oats

1 1/4 cup peanut butter

½ tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Cream the vegan butter and honey.  In a separate bowl combine the baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon and gluten free flour.   Add the egg whites and peanut butter to the vegan butter mixture. Once the ingredients are combined, add the flour mixture and then the oats and chocolate chips.  Bake the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 10 minutes, or until browned.

Remember, these cookies are designed to be health oriented.  Feel free to improvise if the cookies are not soft or sweet enough for you.  You can add more butter, you could add a bit of sugar, or just more honey.

Enjoy!

Serves 6

Thanks again Jessica!